Aluu killings: Rep advocates state police

The Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Mr. Dakuku Peterside, has condemned the killing of four students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Aluu, Rivers State.

Dakuku, in a statement, said the killing showed that the country cannot continue to run away from state police.

He said: “Whatever the reason, the truth is that the Uniport 4 represented hope and the future, not just for their respective families and communities, but for the entire country. So for whatever reason, these are needless deaths that could have been avoided and this sordid act should be condemned by all men of goodwill.

“I understand Aluu and some neighbouring communities had been under siege for some time. In fact, the state of insecurity in the area had deteriorated so badly that the people had resorted to self-help.

“Consequently, they formed vigilance groups with absolute powers and the death of these boys is a direct consequence of that ill-advised move. Therefore, to all intent and purposes, Aluu was actually a disaster waiting to happen. But should this brand of jungle justice be visited on the Uniport 4 in the first instance?

“Again, are we such a depraved people? Where are the good men of Aluu? This is definitely not what I know of Aluu, a once peaceful neighbourhood. Did they just watch while evil was perpetrated or were they simply intimidated?

“Security is at the centre of this latest national calamity and we must not pretend about it.

“The police failed to rise up to the occasion, even though the crime under consideration lasted about two hours. This failure drew substantially from the police’s obsolete communication gadgets and their slow response.

These are issues we had raised severally, but no one listened.

“If what happened in Aluu could happen in Rivers, a model state in terms of security, then there is cause for alarm. This is a warning sign we cannot afford to ignore.

“Those opposed to state police for some reasons are beginning to see the need for further dialogue. The Aluu killings would not have happened, if there was state police.

“The arguments against state police usually dissolve in the face of logic. Police cannot be a platform for national integration and this must be emphasised. Around the world, there are not too many examples of successful policing in federal states.

“Antagonists of state police are also quick to cite the concentration of power in one single man (the governor), discriminatory tendencies, interstate rivalry and even jungle justice like the macabre dance in Aluu as its disadvantages.

“Strangely, the advantages of state police outweigh its disadvantages. The truth is that the federal police as constituted today lacks capacity and resources and is too bureaucratic. These explain why they are easily overwhelmed.

“I think some Nigerians are beginning to appreciate the fact that state police would be well-funded. There is also the advantage of capacity-building. There will be enough manpower and this will engender healthy rivalry.

“If we achieve the clamour for state police, a measure of frustration will leave our governors, who will then truly act as chief security officers.